The Game
Beta Disaster
Friday
Hey Girl, I got you in. The Beta should arrive today. See you there.
Christina read over the text message on her way to the mail box having just arrived home from another shift at her dead end job and anticipating the long holiday weekend. Stuffed in the narrow slot was the usual assortment of bills, junk mail, unwanted catalogs, and a single box just large enough to be noticed. Her name and address graced the front of the box, with the return address of a well-respected game software engineering brand stamped on the upper left hand corner.
Once inside, Christina divided the mail up into various locations, bills on the desk, junk mail in the shredder, and catalogs in the recycling basket. The box, too, went on the desk. After a brief shower and changing into her comfiest pajamas, Christina made her way into her apartment's kitchen to scrounge up dinner.
Finally, armed with two slices of left over, reheated pizza, a tall sprite, and Doritos, Christina sat herself at her desk and pulled her laptop towards her. Before reaching for the box, she shot off a quick message to Hailey to confirm that the box had indeed arrived. Then she opened the box. Not much bigger than a ring box, the contents inside tumbled out onto the desk; a flash drive, a headset much like a blue tooth device and a note. Christina gingerly picked up the note. It read:
Welcome to Final Fantasy Unlimited. Beta begins at 6:00pm. Insert flash drive into your computer and attach beta driver (headset) to your ear to begin.
Shady was the first word that came to mind, but Hailey had vouched for it. After making sure her anti-virus and internet security were up to date and working optimally, Christina plugged in the flash drive. The screen immediately went black.
"Oh great," she muttered. Then she remembered the headset, beta driver? She picked it up and immediately tired fixing it to her ear. A sharp prick made her wince. Well, no one said she was tech savvy. After some more finagling, it finally sat comfortably on her ear. Now what?
"Welcome," a male voice in her ear made her jump until she realized it was coming from the beta driver. "To Final Fantasy Unlimited." A white blinking cursor appeared on the screen. "Please enter your first name."
Ok…warily she typed out CHRISTINA and hit enter.
"Hello Christina," the voice again. Um…a little Silence of the Lambs much? "Please enter your age."
28. Enter.
"Thank you, now logging you in." The screen remained blank.
"What the…" Christina muttered just moments before she felt warmth seep into her ear, the same ear with the beta driver attached, and everything went black.
Slowly, Christina came to. The world around her materialized pixel by pixel until she stood in a white paneled room atop a white pedestal. Freaked out she looked around for an exit, but there wasn't any. Where was she? Could this really be the game? Had Hailey mentioned this? She couldn't remember.
"Welcome Christina," a woman's voice boomed from everywhere and nowhere. "To Characterization." The walls began to move. Panels opened and closed, shifting around the walls. "Please choose hair style and color. Specification is required."
"Wait," Christina said, looking every which way possible. "Am I in the game? Am I the character?"
"Yes, in Final Fantasy Unlimited, you are your character. You will experience the game through a player's scope making its adventure your own."
"Wicked," Christina breathed.
"Please select hair style and color. Specification is required."
Christina reached up and brushed a hand through her short hair. Professionally cut and one shade of natural medium brown, her hair was never anything spectacular. She'd always wanted a full head of hair, with think ringlets or waves. "Can you show me hair styles with lots of hair, like really long and thick and curly…or wavy?"
"Specification accepted, now loading." The panels began to move again, but nothing appeared until, suddenly, there was a mirror in front of her. "Please use the mirror to scroll through specified styles."
"Scroll?"
"Swipe as you would a smart device."
"Like my phone?"
"Yes."
"Okay…" Christina looked at herself in the mirror for just a moment, taking in her plain and plump appearance. She wasn't quite obese, but there seemed to be no hiding her muffin top even in her pajamas. With a quick flick of her wrist, she swiped the mirror from right to left. Instantly her hair changed into a long, thick French braid trailing all the way down her back. She twirled, watching the effect of the braid swinging with her movement. "Wow!" The color was pure white, but the voice had said color so maybe she could decide that later. She swiped again. The braid disappeared replaced by a pile of curls pinned up elaborately upon her head. She looked damn near royal. Soon, she was swiping one after another, taking only a moment to glance at the different styles until-"This is it!" she squealed in delight. Long locks pulled back in twists into a ponytail that was then left loose to curl and wave all the way down her back, passed her waist. She flicked her head from side to side admiring the way the hair swayed with her movement.
"Please confirm selection. Changes cannot be made once the characterization process is complete."
Christina twirled one more time and said, "Confirm."
"Please select hair color. Specification is required."
Christina quirked her mouth to one side in thought. Her normal hair color wasn't bad, but she'd always wanted something bolder, more vibrant. "Can you show me colors like my natural color, but more vibrant. Maybe even jewel tone?"
"Specification accepted. Please scroll through options."
Once again, Christina found herself swiping the mirror. First color she came to was damn near spun gold and made her look washed out and unnatural. Next came up a rustic auburn, but it wasn't quite what she had in mind. She was preparing herself for another round of swiping furiously, but stopped dead on the third color. Bright amber engulfed her new hair, gleaming brilliantly with the essence of honey. Undertones of red and brown glinted in the light. She looked amazing. It brought out the green in her hazel eyes and made her skin glow. "This one, please," she announced.
"Please confirm your selection."
"Confirm." She smiled.
"Please confirm appearance before moving on. If you wish to change anything, now is the time."
Christina said, "Confirm," without any hesitation.
"Moving on to class identification."
The panels began to move again and so did the pedestal on which she stood. The mirror disappeared and now she stood facing 3 mannequins adorned with armor and weapons.
"Class Options: please select class to learn more."
"Okay, tell me about the first one," Christina said pointing to the armor clad, sword wielding mannequin.
"Valkyrie class; special weapons and battle strategy. The Valkyrie are the defenders of Gaia."
"Okay and that one?" She pointed to the middle mannequin wearing revealing dark robes and carrying a staff."
"Sorcerer class; offensive spells. Sorcerers utilize elemental and dark magic. They are the spell casters of Gaia.
"And this last one?" The last mannequin was modestly dressed in white, embroidered robes.
"Cleric class; defensive spells. Clerics are the healers of Gaia."
"Valkyrie class for sure," Christina said, pointing to the first mannequin again.
Immediately, her pajamas disappeared replaced by basic armor in silver and blue. Wing clips appeared on either side of her thick pony tail. A mirror appeared so she could survey herself.
"Confirm selection."
"Oh most definitely confirm." Her thighs above the boots were still a little thick, but the armor effectively hid her muffin top.
"Choose weapon specialization." The mannequins disappeared. The pedestal shifted again, the panels moving and when she stopped the panels revealed three different weapons. A kind of sword with what looked like a gun attached to the handle, a pair of daggers, and a bow. No explanation needed.
"The bow, please, and confirm."
"Very well. Please choose secondary weapon specialization."
A bow appeared across her back as well as a quiver of arrows. They were plainer looking than the ones on the wall. Same with the armor, but she wasn't complaining. She knew how these things worked. The three weapons vanished into the panels and three more were revealed; a dagger, wrist knives, and a mini crossbow. Well she already had a bow.
"I'll take the dagger."
"Confirm selection."
"Confirm."
The secondary weapons vanished into the panels and a thigh sheath that was complete with chosen dagger appeared on hers.
"Confirm class specialization."
"Confirm."
"Moving on."
The panels vanished into one cohesive wall and the pedestal moved into the middle of the room.
"Create user identity using first name. Available options include Lady Christina, Christina the Great, or just Christina."
Christina frowned at the options. They were lame, but that's what you get from an automated computer system. She took a moment to think about it. "Hmmm…how about Ever Christina?"
"Please repeat chosen identity."
"Ever Christina."
"Confirm identity."
"Confirm."
"Welcome Ever Christina to Final Fantasy Unlimited. Beta will begin in a few moments. Please use remaining time to review game controls."
Christina did as asked, using a computer terminal to view various videos on battle, class customization and utilization, interaction between players and other various controls. She learned the basics of using her bow and dagger, how and when to upgrade her weapons and armor, and how to interact with other players. As a safe guard, the players couldn't physically touch one another unless both players authorized the contact and even then it was limited. Clothing could not be removed so there was no chance of any inappropriate contact between players.
"Ever Christina, please proceed through far door to begin Beta."
"Here goes…" Christina stepped off the pedestal and towards a far door that appeared in the white wall. At first all she could see was bright light. Taking a deep breath she stepped through the door.